The photographic news

• Bandzählung: 6.1862
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1862
• Sprache: Englisch
• Signatur: F 135
• Vorlage: Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
• Digitalisat: Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
• Digitalisat: SLUB Dresden
• Rechtehinweis: Public Domain Mark 1.0
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-db-id1780948042-186200003
• PURL: http://digital.slub-dresden.de/id1780948042-18620000
• OAI: oai:de:slub-dresden:db:id-1780948042-18620000
• Sammlungen: LDP: Historische Bestände der Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
• Sammlungen: Fotografie
• Bemerkung: Seite 1-72 fehlen in der Vorlage. Vorlagebedingter Textverlust.
• Strukturtyp: Band

• Digitalisat: SLUB Dresden
• Strukturtyp: Ausgabe

62. | ng no derate im lie ress of lected at the I with es he s wore ; that it one to he ore to i this s the lately r and a un- ge o f terms. Mason I iffirms I him ly bj n tract Juired ociety nally. ■ to be leliver ! be a which 1 days o day ■ • con s and nding Ormed tineas ndant I lity of iction, 3 part Prrect, i idence t all; atives, if not ars by s that ‘s first > con- taken, re was ion of ninent so far y the emen One was 8 stated ninent uinea, imsell al im- of the egulat c most , ive, we I indred March 7, 1862.] THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS. Hl * Continued from page 100. In those cameras having an expanding motion the greatest care should be taken to ensure the parallelism of the move ment, and the firmness of the whole when in a working position. The means of doing so, of course are various, and must be adopted according to the kind of camera, but it is very important to avoid all appliances which are in them selves unsteady or tend with a little wear to become rickety. When a flexible material is used for the body of a camera it should be strained taut when in use, as if it were allowed to bag it would be taken with the least wind, and by its movement create a vibration of the whole instrument. Those cameras of this nature, (such as the bellows camera), which by their form cannot be strained perfectly taut, must be rendered incapable of vibration by some other means. Much of what I have said in reference to the construction of cameras for the studio applies equally to field cameras, and I need not repeat it in this place : the reader's judge ment will readily decide whether the suggestions I have offered have any relation to the requirements of any parti cular case he may have under consideration. REMARKS UPON SOME OP THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN PHOTOGRAPHY* BY F, K. WINDOW. Cameras.—Continued. Field Cameras.—As in the preceding article upon the studio camera, it is rather my intention to examine the 'fUestion of cameras for the field in a general way, than to oer a criticism upon the comparative merits of any indi- Miual pattern. This not only would be an invidious task, init would also be beside my purpose, which is to enquire t ‘° the suitability of our apparatus for taking perfect pic- pref and not to prescribe the use of one instrument in a nerence to another when the choice between them lies in of the 'fUestion of convenience or taste. Also this question anoth sperior convenience of one design of camera over executraddepends much upon the character of work to be and what would be the most suited to one class of °‛ rrheirns might be totally unfitted for another. t ri”' arms of camera most generally used in the field are : I ] e box camera, mostly used by wet collodion photo- 8. 63 and also generally in India and tropical countries; 18( ou le body camera, the same as for the studio ; the fold- mg camera which folds by hinges in the sides ; the folding double bodied camera; and the folding bellows camera. I am not aware of any thing that renders any one of these designs unsuited for producing perfect pictures, so their selection must be decided by the individual opinion of the artist, guided by the nature of the work he wishes to perform with it. In every form of camera for the field there are certain re quirements which must be met, in order to produce the best effects ; and it is these which I propose to investigate. I shall assume mostly that the field camera is to be em ployed for dry plates. The wet collodion photographer has generally so much baggage to carry with the tent and che micals, that one or more assistants, or a vehicle are neces sary to transport it; he has therefore less encouragement to study the portability of his instrument, which to him is only one of many things to be carried, than the dry plate photographer, whose only load is his camera and who generally bears it himself. Therefore the wet plate photo graphers principally use a double body camera such as I have previously described, or one of rigid construction. The body.—The body of the portable camera is the most most important part, and the greatest attention should be paid not only to its design but to its mode of construction. It has to be carried about from place to place through heat cold, and rain. It has to battle with railway porters who are not a race celebrated for the careful handling of goods committed to their mercies, and to bear the numerous chances and mischances incident upon pedestrian and cross country expeditions. Thus while there is every temptation to cut doion the material to a minimum, to decrease weight and achieve portability, there is also a necessity for suffi cient strength and stamina in the instrument to enable it to bear a good deal of rough treatment without injury to its working parts. The work which falls short of this sufficiency of strength is to be condemned, as it will probably fail in the hour of need, and at the best will prove to be an unwise economy. Work with more material than is required to give the necessary strength is an evidence of clumsiness in a portable instrument, as it adds useless weight. So we should endea vour to avoid excess either way, and steer a middle course between the flimsy and the ponderous when we select a camera for field work. All the wood work of the body should be secured by screws as well as glue, and the edges and corners should be rounded off to lessen the danger of injury from blows on those parts. If the price admits of metal bracing, so much the better, and in this case the thickness of the wood may be diminished a little. Flanges and projections generally should be avoided as much as possible, as they are liable to be broken off in ordinary wear and tear; and parts intended to work in each other—such as inner bodies, shutters, doors, &c.— should be made sufficiently free that the ordinary swelling from damp weather will not interfere with their action. and fifty guineas, and in another two hundred guineas, have been ottered for it, should it be for sale. The jury, as we have stated, returned an unsatisfactory verdict. Practically for the defendant, but with a recommen dation which nullifies it as a decision. The matter will stand over until Easter term, when, on some amendment of the pleas by the judge, the plaintiff may move that the ver dict may be entered for himself, for one negative at five guineas, with nominal damages. The defendant’s counsel will oppose this on the ground that, if one negative only had been claimed no action could have arisen, as the question of price was entirely a subsidiary one, and would never have been contested ; that the action was resisted simply because it was for two negatives, when there was only one to deliver. On this point we can speak, as we remember that several months ago Mr. Heath asked us, personally, if we would act as referee in the matter, and he then stated that it was purely a question of the delivery of one or two negatives, the question of price being to him of minor importance ; and we have moreover seen a letter addressed to Sir Charles Phipps in December last, in which Mr. Heath states that had the claim been for one negative he would have been very glad to have been quit of the affair by delivering the negative to Mr. Mason “on any terms he chose to offer.” We have made a few remarks on this case, not because, beyond its general interest to photographers, it involves any great principle; but chiefly because we were struck with the inadequacy of a court of law to decide questions of a technical character. The judge was attentive and patient; the counsel on either side were able and watchful; the jury being special were we presume of beyond the average intelligence and respectability. But with all this the verdict is a manifest compromise, an attempt to make it pleasant to all parties. “ There is no contract,” say the jury, “and so far the defendant is right. Still we should not like the plaintiff, poor fellow, to lose his negative, and we recom mend that it be given to him on payment of five guineas.” Such a decision decides nothing and pleases nobody. Surely a couple or half-a-dozen respectable photographers, being familiar with all that legitimately affects such a question, could have arrived at a better decision six months ago, without troubling a jury at all. If Mr. Mason had consented to decide the matter by arbitration, some hundreds of pounds would have been saved in law expenses, and Mr. Mason might have pocketed some thousands by a circulation, the extent of which, under existing circumstances, would have only have been limited by his power of production.